Just Kissing

Anna thought she’d met The One when she was 18 years old. He was polite and put up with her weird little quirks. He proposed with an expensive ring and had a good job, so even though he was short and not all that great in bed, she happily spent 10 years sprinkling cubes of feta cheese into his salad for work each day. But the domestic bliss that was making a packed lunch for her husband came to an abrupt end when she arrived home from work one evening to find him in bed with a prostitute.

Naturally, she files for divorce and naturally (because her job involves cold-calling people trying to sell them nuts and dried fruits), she’s poor and has to move into a damp flat with dubious heating. Her friends are keen to set her up with a new man who’ll cheer her up and know what he’s doing in bed. Instead, Anna’s seduced by a communal office jumper scented with aftershave, which belongs to a man twice her age.

Her best friend is outraged by her new choice of man, but Anna doesn't mind because she and her new love interest – Andrew – are “low key”, so he doesn't expect her to mess about with Tupperware or sort out his odd socks. The problem is, Anna wants to do those things; she just wants the man she does it for to be a bit taller, a bit better in bed, and a bit more monogamous. Because God works in mysterious ways, he drops a gorgeous, very tall vicar named Dominic, into her world; a vicar who believes in the sanctity of marriage and thinks she’s worth more than selling nuts.

If it’s a toss-up between the man from work who’s old enough to be her father, and the divine Dominic, it’s no contest, but – because Anna’s not a Christian – God sees fit to let her fall for a vicar who thinks she’s immoral and wanton. Even if Dominic can get past her iffy relationship with Ancient Andrew, he has strict beliefs that mean a relationship with him will be anything but orgasmic, and an old acquaintance who’ll try anything to be the one to remove his dog collar. If that wasn't enough, Anna has her own baggage, causing a bit of a meltdown at a supermarket, which not even a kind dentist can smooth over for her.

Just Kissing: For Better, For Worse

After a car-crash marriage to a short man who liked to pay for sex, Anna found the man of her dreams. He proposed, she accepted, and they were to live happily ever after. Except, the man of her dreams happens to be a vicar, and she isn't a Christian.

Becoming Mrs Millcott means that Anna can have sex with the delicious Dominic for the first time (and she intends to do so, quite a lot) but it also means that she’s now The Vicar’s Wife; she has to move to a rural village and live in a vicarage overlooked by nosy parishioners.

She has to contend with Margaret – an old lady with designs on her womb, Bill – a strange man who likes to kill rabbits, Catherine Baker – a church busy-body who seems determined to dislike the vicar’s new wife, and Nicolette – an attractive churchgoer who has a ‘thing’ for her new husband. It’s a lot to deal with, but it’s made worse by the fact that she’s secretly venturing into the world of erotic fiction, planning a sex toy-fuelled Hen Party for her pregnant friend, and struggling to come to terms with the fact that she and Dominic will never have children together. It doesn't help that she’s a vegetarian who now has to attend fortnightly Fish Suppers, either.

Covering the first six months of their marriage, Anna and Dominic navigate their new life together. There’s sex, scandal, talk of babies and people from both their pasts who come back to complicate matters.

Just Kissing: In Sickness and In Health

Just when Anna finally got her head around being a vicar’s wife, she found out she was pregnant – with twins! It’s daunting, because she’s had two failed pregnancies in the past, but with Dominic by her side, she’s confident everything will work itself out. Sadly, her best friend isn’t quite so convinced.

Stressed out by the lacklustre reception to her pregnancy, and struggling with an increased libido and a husband who seems to have lost his own, Anna is on edge. She’s also decided to save a homeless man by luring him to Dominic’s church, but Dominic doesn’t seem too impressed because he has a past Anna knows nothing about. Anna’s not the only one with man trouble. Her best friend – Georgie – is desperate for a proposal, but her boyfriend – Craig – is reluctant to commit because he’s harbouring a secret. When Anna finds out that Craig’s been lying, her revelation sparks a series of events with dire consequences, and it doesn’t look as though life at the vicarage will ever be the same again.

Thankfully, Anna’s Boss – Roger – is on hand to do some damage control, and there’s a trainee vicar – Lawrence – who’s only too happy to say some nice religious words and light some candles. Sadly, Anna’s anti-Christ father is quick to try and shout him down, and if her dad wasn’t a big enough opponent, Lawrence gets himself entangled with a rather determined Nicolette, who doesn’t take too well to learning that her beloved Dominic is about to become a father to twins.

Anna’s desperate for a “happy ever after” and she thinks she might eventually get it, but not before she’s moved a dead body, had a friend brick her window and sworn in church.